iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 Among Top 5 Best Selling U.S. Phones

Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 may seem like old phones to power users, but they’re still among the top five best selling smartphones in the United States. NPD released its latest Mobile Phone Track report Friday, which found that overall mobile phone sales in the United States jumped 24 percent during the fourth quarter of 2012. It also discovered a few other compelling statistics.

Samsung saw the largest growth in sales; its market share increased from 21 percent during the first quarter of 2011 to 30 percent during the fourth quarter of last year. Apple’s share dipped from 41 percent to 39 percent, but its phones remain among the most popular. The iPhone 5 was dubbed the top-selling phone in the United States for the quarter, followed by Samsung’s Galaxy S III, the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Keep in mind, however, that this report is different from a similar one from Strategy Analytics, which found Apple was the top phone vendor, not just the top smartphone vendor, in the United States for the first time during the fourth quarter.

“Even taking into account the tremendous sales growth of the Galaxy III and other Samsung smartphones, the iPhone is still king of the U.S.-market hill,” NPD vice president of industry analysis Stephen Baker said. “In addition to strong U.S. sales of iPhone 5, Apple has been bolstered by strong and continued demand for older, less-expensive iPhone models.”

Samsung has the potential to surpass Apple’s sales during the fourth quarter of next year if it experiences another year with this type of growth.